Southern Miss coaches part ways with starting QB, but USM may get boost at the position
There’s a good chance Southern Miss will get redshirt sophomore quarterback Tate Whatley back this week after he missed the last three games, and it couldn’t come at a better time with starter Jack Abraham sitting out the rest of the season.
If fully recovered from a concussion that he suffered Oct. 24 at Liberty, Whatley has a good shot at being the starter when USM hosts Texas-San Antonio at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Abraham, a redshirt senior, informed the USM staff last week that he won’t be available for the remainder of the season after suffering his own concussion Oct. 31 against Rice, forcing him to miss the second half of that game and the Nov. 7 win over North Alabama. Abraham also missed the Liberty game after testing positive for COVID-19.
A source with direct knowledge of Abraham’s decision to sit out the remainder of the season told the Sun Herald last week that the Oxford native planned to stay with the team, mentor the other quarterbacks and looked forward to meeting whoever becomes USM’s next head coach.
On Monday, interim USM coach Tim Billings said during a video conference that Abraham is no longer with the team.
“He’s not here,” Billings said. “No one worked harder or was any more committed to the team while he was here, but he’s no longer here.”
The Sun Herald was told Monday by the same source that Abraham is at peace with his decision to not play again in 2020 in order to protect his health, and he still hopes to meet with the new head coach when the hiring is made. The decision on whether the Oxford native would remain with the team for the rest of the season was “not (Abraham’s) choice,” according to the source.
Trey Lowe III fills in for Southern Miss
Redshirt sophomore Trey Lowe III, a West Virginia transfer, made his second consecutive start in the 10-7 loss at Western Kentucky last week, but a healthy Whatley remains likely to get the call to start this Saturday.
Lowe has completed 23 of 40 passes for 224 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns over the last three games. He has been sacked eight times, including six at WKU.
Abraham took part in practice on Wednesday last week and offensive coordinator Matt Kubik had hoped to have him behind center for the WKU game.
“He did his week in protocol and felt good as the week went along,” Kubik said. “He was practicing well all week long.
“We support him 100% because you can’t mess with those types of things. It’s a personal decision he made. The timing was a little tough on us, to be honest. But we rallied around Trey just like we did the week before. We were able to give ourselves the opportunity to win at the end of the game.”
If Whatley can play Saturday, the Golden Eagles’ passing attack should receive a lift.
Whatley, who has seen action in 10 games in his career, played well in the 56-35 loss at Liberty, completing 15 of 26 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran 12 times for 52 yards and four touchdowns.
“We think he’s back,” Billings said. “Yesterday, he was running around and felt good. It feels like he’ll play this week. Hopefully we’ll have him back and hopefully that will be a big boost for our offense.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 1:28 PM.
